Faithful Love: Week 6, Tuesday Conqueror of Death, Mighty to Save

Posted on June 1, 2021May 31, 2021 by

Read: Hosea 13:4-14 and Mark 10:45; SOAP: Hosea 13:14

Hosea 13:4-14

“I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. ⁵I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. ⁶But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. ⁷So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. ⁸Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal.

⁹“You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. ¹⁰Now where is your king?
Let him save you! Where are all the leaders of the land, the king, and the officials you demanded of me? ¹¹In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury, I took them away. ¹²“Ephraim’s guilt has been collected, and his sin has been stored up for punishment. ¹³Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb!

¹⁴“Should I ransom them from the grave? Should I redeem them from death? O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them.

Mark 10:45

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Israel foolishly turned to its earthly governors instead of turning to God.
Read the full devotional –

This is the link I refer to in my SOAP recording today. It was a very helpful resource for me and I trust it will be for you too.
Commentary on Hosea 13:14 – God Will Deliver

Reflection Question: Why did Jesus come from Heaven to earth?

Faithful Love: Week 6, Monday — All For His Glory

Posted on May 31, 2021May 31, 2021 by

Read: Hosea 13:1-3 and Psalm 1; SOAP: Psalm 1:6

Hosea 13:1-3 The Lord’s Anger against Israel

When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,
    the people shook with fear,
    for that tribe was important in Israel.
But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal
    and thus sealed their destruction.
²Now they continue to sin by making silver idols,
    images shaped skillfully with human hands.
“Sacrifice to these,” they cry,
    “and kiss the calf idols!”
³Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist,
    like dew in the morning sun,
like chaff blown by the wind,
    like smoke from a chimney.

Psalm 1

¹Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
²But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
³They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

⁴But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
⁵They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
⁶For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Instead of using what God had given them to do great things for His glory, they used their skills to make idols. Instead of investing their lives in eternity, they foolishly invested in the temporal.
Read the full LGG devotional –

Reflection question: What correlation do you see between our two passages today? (Specifically the events of Hosea 13:1-3 and the warning of Psalm 1.)

Gather with a group of friends this week for coffee (or tea, or cupcakes) and have an honest talk about what you think your gifts and talents are – and how you would use them for God if nothing stood in your way. Encourage one another to find one small way to take action and honor God with their gifts in the coming month. Then plan a date to get back together to check-in.
Weekly Challenge

Memory Verse: Hosea 14:9

Prayer Focus: Spend time praying for yourself this week. Feel free to share a request with us.

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Friday — A Heart Test

Posted on May 28, 2021May 27, 2021 by

Read: Hosea 12:12-14; 2 Kings 7:7-9; Micah 6:16 and SOAP: Hosea 12:14

Hosea 12:12-14 New Living Translation

Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
    and there he earned a wife by tending sheep.
¹³Then by a prophet
    the Lord brought Jacob’s descendants^[out of Egypt;
and by that prophet
    they were protected.
¹⁴But the people of Israel
    have bitterly provoked the Lord,
so their Lord will now sentence them to death
    in payment for their sins.

2 Kings 7:7-9 New Living Translation

So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives. ⁸When the men with leprosy arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it. ⁹Finally, they said to each other, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.”

Micah 6:16 New Living Translation

You keep only the laws of evil King Omri;
    you follow only the example of wicked King Ahab!
Therefore, I will make an example of you,
    bringing you to complete ruin.
You will be treated with contempt,
    mocked by all who see you.”

The people of Israel had been so wicked and had made such atrocities, they “were being repaid for his disgraceful deeds” (Hosea 12:14).
Read the full devotional

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Thursday Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

Posted on May 27, 2021May 26, 2021 by

Hosea 12:9-12 NLT

“But I am the Lord your God,
    who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
And I will make you live in tents again,
    as you do each year at the Festival of Shelters.
¹⁰I sent my prophets to warn you
    with many visions and parables.”

¹¹But the people of Gilead are worthless
    because of their idol worship.
And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls;
    their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone
    along the edges of a plowed field.

The people of Israel had confidence in their wealth, in their financial success and didn´t want to listen to Hosea. Ultimately, they didn´t want to hear God.
Read the Full LGG Devotional

Romans 8:38-39 New Living Translation

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Wk 5, Wednesday Wrestle or Surrender

Posted on May 26, 2021May 25, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 12:1-8, JOEL 2:13; SOAP: HOSEA 12:5-6

Hosea 12:1-8 New Living Translation

The people of Israel feed on the wind;
    they chase after the east wind all day long.
They pile up lies and violence;
    they are making an alliance with Assyria
    while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.

Now the Lord is bringing charges against Judah.
    He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways,
    and pay him back for all he has done.
³Even in the womb,
    Jacob struggled with his brother;
when he became a man,
    he even fought with God.
⁴Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won.
    He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him.
There at Bethel, he met God face to face,
    and God spoke to him—

The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,
    the Lord is his name!
⁶So now, come back to your God.
    Act with love and justice,
    and always depend on him.

⁷But no, the people are like crafty merchants
    selling from dishonest scales—
    they love to cheat.
⁸Israel boasts, “I am rich!
    I’ve made a fortune all by myself!
No one has caught me cheating!
    My record is spotless!”

Jacob lost the fight and wept. He came to the place where he knew God had beaten him, and all he could do was hang on to God and plead for a blessing.
Read the full LGG devotional here

Joel 2:13 New Living Translation

Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
    but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
    He is eager to relent and not punish.

WORSHIP WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE: DOES ANYTHING FROM TODAY’S READINGS CAUSE YOU TO WORSHIP GOD? IF SO, PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO SHARE IT IN 5 WORDS OR LESS

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Tuesday — God Never Gives Up

Posted on May 25, 2021May 25, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 11:1-12, PSALM 145:8-9, MICAH 7:18-19; SOAP: HOSEA 11:8-9

Hosea 11 New Living Translation

The Lord’s Love for Israel

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. ²But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. ³I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. ⁴I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him. ⁵“But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria. ⁶War will swirl through their cities;
their enemies will crash through their gates. They will destroy them, trapping them in their own evil plans. ⁷For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me.

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah
or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.
⁹No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy.
¹⁰For someday the people will follow me. I, the Lord, will roar like a lion. And when I roar, my people will return trembling from the west. ¹¹Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt. Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria. And I will bring them home again,” says the Lord.

Charges against Israel and Judah

¹²Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit, but Judah still obeys God and is faithful to the Holy One.

God has always been a good, loving, caring Father. –
Read the rest of the LGG devotional here

Psalm 145:8-9

The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry, and filled with unfailing love.
⁹The Lord is good to everyone.
He showers compassion on all his creation.

Micah 7:18-19

Where is another God like you,
    who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
    overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
    because you delight in showing unfailing love.
¹⁹Once again you will have compassion on us.
    You will trample our sins under your feet
    and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

REFLECTION QUESTION: WHAT WAS GOD’S CHANGE OF HEARt BASED ON IN OUR SOAP PASSAGE TODAY?

I invite you to share an answer to today’s question and/or your thoughts on today’s passage –

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Monday Reap Steadfast Love

Posted on May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 10:9-15, ACTS 17:27, JAMES 4:8; AND SOAP: HOSEA 10:12

Hosea 10:9-15

⁹The Lord says, “O Israel, ever since Gibeah, there has been only sin and more sin! You have made no progress whatsoever. Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked? ¹⁰Now whenever it fits my plan, I will attack you, too. I will call out the armies of the nations to punish you for your multiplied sins. ¹¹“Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain— an easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck. I will force Judah to pull the plow and Israel to break up the hard ground.

I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
    and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
    for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
    and shower righteousness upon you.’
SOAP Passage

¹³“But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies—trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe. ¹⁴Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. All your fortifications will fall, just as when Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel. Even mothers and children were dashed to death there. ¹⁵You will share that fate, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day of judgment dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

Acts 17:26-28

²⁶From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. ²⁷“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

James 4:8

⁸Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

God is so loving, so forgiving, and good to His people that He gives unrepentant Israel a choice –
Read LGG’s full devotional

Reflection Question: What do you think Hosea meant in our SOAP Passage today when he said: “Now is the time to seek the LORD“?

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 4, Friday Living as Wise Women

Posted on May 21, 2021May 20, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 10:1-8 AND LAMENTATIONS 1:8,15, AND 18; SOAP: LAMENTATIONS 1:18

The Lord’s Judgment against Israel

How prosperous Israel is—
    a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit.
But the richer the people get,
    the more pagan altars they build.
The more bountiful their harvests,
    the more beautiful their sacred pillars.
²The hearts of the people are fickle;
    they are guilty and must be punished.
The Lord will break down their altars
    and smash their sacred pillars.
³Then they will say, “We have no king
    because we didn’t fear the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
    what could he do for us anyway?”
⁴They spout empty words
    and make covenants they don’t intend to keep.
So injustice springs up among them
    like poisonous weeds in a farmer’s field.

⁵The people of Samaria tremble in fear
    for their calf idol at Beth-aven,
    and they mourn for it.
Though its priests rejoice over it,
    its glory will be stripped away.
⁶This idol will be carted away to Assyria,
    a gift to the great king there.
Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed,
    because its people have trusted in this idol.
⁷Samaria and its king will be cut off;
    they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave.
⁸And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble.
    Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars.
They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!”
    and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!”

Lamentations 1:8, 15, and 18

Jerusalem has sinned greatly,
    so she has been tossed away like a filthy rag.
All who once honored her now despise her,
    for they have seen her stripped naked and humiliated.
All she can do is groan
    and hide her face.

¹⁵“The Lord has treated my mighty men
    with contempt.
At his command a great army has come
    to crush my young warriors.
The Lord has trampled his beloved city
    like grapes are trampled in a winepress.

“The Lord is right,” Jerusalem says,
    “for I rebelled against him.
Listen, people everywhere;
    look upon my anguish and despair,
for my sons and daughters
    have been taken captive to distant lands.

The young women and men from Israel had to pay the price of the people´s rebellion toward God. We must never forget that sin has consequences. Read the full devotional
Read the full devotional

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 4, Thursday Finding Fruit in the Desert

Posted on May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 by

Hosea 9:10-17

The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you,
    it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert.
When I saw your ancestors,
    it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season.
But then they deserted me for Baal-peor,
    giving themselves to that shameful idol.
Soon they became vile,
    as vile as the god they worshiped.
¹¹The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird,
    for your children will not be born
or grow in the womb
    or even be conceived.
¹²Even if you do have children who grow up,
    I will take them from you.
It will be a terrible day when I turn away
    and leave you alone.
¹³I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre.
    But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter.”

¹⁴O Lord, what should I request for your people?
I will ask for wombs that don’t give birth
and breasts that give no milk.

¹⁵The Lord says, “All their wickedness began at Gilgal;
    there I began to hate them.
I will drive them from my land
    because of their evil actions.
I will love them no more
    because all their leaders are rebels.
¹⁶The people of Israel are struck down.
    Their roots are dried up,
    and they will bear no more fruit.
And if they give birth,
    I will slaughter their beloved children.”

¹⁷My God will reject the people of Israel
because they will not listen or obey.
They will be wanderers,
homeless among the nations.

The early fruit of the fig tree is especially good, and Israel was special to the Lord. But this joyful experience didn’t last –
Read the full devotional

Deuteronomy 28:64-65

For the Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone! ⁶⁵There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.

Psalm 77:7-9

Has the Lord rejected me forever?
    Will he never again be kind to me?
⁸Is his unfailing love gone forever?
    Have his promises permanently failed?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he slammed the door on his compassion?

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 4, Wednesday Unaware of Disaster

Posted on May 19, 2021May 18, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 9:1-9 AND ISAIAH 10:1-4; SOAP: HOSEA 9:9

Hosea Announces Israel’s Punishment

O people of Israel,
    do not rejoice as other nations do.
For you have been unfaithful to your God,
    hiring yourselves out like prostitutes,
    worshiping other gods on every threshing floor.
²So now your harvests will be too small to feed you.
    There will be no grapes for making new wine.
³You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land.
    Instead, you will return to Egypt,
and in Assyria you will eat food
    that is ceremonially unclean.
⁴There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord.
    None of your sacrifices there will please him.
They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning.
    All who present such sacrifices will be defiled.
They may eat this food themselves,
    but they may not offer it to the Lord.
⁵What then will you do on festival days?
    How will you observe the Lord’s festivals?
⁶Even if you escape destruction from Assyria,
    Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis^[a] will bury you.
Nettles will take over your treasures of silver;
    thistles will invade your ruined homes.

The time of Israel’s punishment has come;
    the day of payment is here.
    Soon Israel will know this all too well.
Because of your great sin and hostility,
    you say, “The prophets are crazy
    and the inspired men are fools!”
⁸The prophet is a watchman over Israel^[b] for my God,
    yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes.
    He faces hostility even in the house of God.
⁹The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibeah long ago.
God will not forget.

Hosea Announces Israel’s Punishment

What sorrow awaits the unjust judges
    and those who issue unfair laws.
²They deprive the poor of justice
    and deny the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows
    and take advantage of orphans.
³What will you do when I punish you,
    when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?
To whom will you turn for help?
    Where will your treasures be safe?
⁴You will stumble along as prisoners
    or lie among the dead.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

Hosea was accused of being a fatalist by Israel when the truth is Israel was gravely unaware of the pending disaster.
Read today’s LGG Blog to see why they were so unaware –

Gibeah is remembered for several things but one especially horrendous incident is what God was referring to here when He compared Israel’s corruption to Gibeah’s. For the full story and the answer to today’s reflection question read the brutal story, at the link below, that God included in His Word for us to read – Reflection Question: In light of what we know about Gibeah, what possible good could come from God’s reminder and comparison of Israel’s sin to that of Gibeah? — Share your thoughts in the comment bar.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Gibeah-in-the-Bible.html